We Must Act: Assault Weapons Ban

It's difficult for me conceive of the horrific violence suffered in Las Ve‌gas Sun‌day ni‌ght. But one thing I know during these dark chapters in our American story is that our actions define us.

We saw courage from first responders and everyday citizens Sun‌day ni‌ght. Next, we must see that same courage from the rest of us -- even when it's hard. Here's one critical place to start: reinstating the Assault Weapons Ban. I voted for that ban as a member of Congress. And when politicians in Washington D.C. allowed the Assault Weapons Ban to expire, it was an egregious abdication of leadership.

Now is the time to fix that mistake. Add your name to join the call for action:

Typical liberal move take a tragedy to try to push your agenda smdh. Your party created so much hate and discontent just remember that. As for those that think silencers exist get out of fairytale land they do not. Suppressors exist which reduces the decibel about 40db. The man had no history and was labeled a gun lover. Change the laws all you want and when thugs gangbangers and criminals are still getting them off the black market or stolen then what? A criminal could give a rats ass about the law. Smdh

The assault weapons ban was shown by your own government panel to have had no positive effect on stopping criminal activity involving guns. Also, banning assault weapons won't keep them out of anyone's hands who want one. Just as banning drugs hasn't done anything but bolster the proliferation of drug use. Not to mention, creating more violent crimes from offenders wanting to obtain the drugs.

The ban on hi cap mags and assault styled guns won't make a difference. Why? Because you could just get 13 old lever action guns and just blow through one after the other. This guy had over 10 guns with him! Plus, if you get rid of access to the gun, they will just use something else. Guess what... go to Kroger, wal-mart and a farmers supply store, and you get all the ingredients you need to make a bomb. Then, go to toys r us and buy a $25 drone, attach bomb to drone, and crash it into a crowd. Sadly, it's already cheaper to do that than to buy the guns and ammo this guy used. And you can kill just as many, if not more.

And that's it? You're taking the typical liberal stance on this? Not that simple Jay. Those guns didn't shoot themselves and you know it. Your response is as inane as Hillary's. So glad I am a registered voter and can help to elect someone with a brain.

I say it’s absurd that it’s harder to buy a box of cold pills than it is to buy 10,000 rounds of ammunition. It’s time to approach from a realistic direction of requiring ID check for ammunition purchases and reasonable limits on the number of rounds individuals can purchase. Tracking would be mandatory and like with cold pills only so many should be allowed for purchase over a period of time.

This wouldn’t be a perfect solution but it would be more effective than the loop hole ridden assault rifle ban of yesteryear.

Governor Inslee - please hear me out on this. I am a survivor of a traumatic domestic violence case, and I'm not on your page to troll. This is an issue that I believe you are going about the wrong way.

First, there are others laws that you should focus on fixing before you should chase this dog. I can speak from experience that those who intend to violate laws, do so, regardless of a law. In the case of the person that I finally got away from, he was energized by the idea of breaking laws. Every law he broke, and got away with, became more of a power trip for him. So, first thing - get into the mind of a criminal. Is a ban really going to stop the problem?

The Assault Weapons Ban was in place how many years? Ten? Did it work?

As for the shooting in Las Vegas, please, correct me if I'm wrong - I might be listening to fake media, but... didn't the shooter have rifles? Didn't he modify a rifle and turn it into an automatic weapon? And, isn't modifying a rifle in this way already illegal? If the reports are true, and his action to modify a rifle was already illegal, how would the Assault Weapons Ban have stopped this incident? He was already doing something illegal before his deadly attack (which is also illegal).

Another thing I read was this guy had a clean record and he passed background checks. So, in this case, laws written around background checks also fail to protect.

Now don't get me wrong - I personally hate Assault Weapons. I believe there is no need for them. But not having a need does not keep someone from breaking the law.

I'm not a fan of guns at all. I have had a loaded gun held to my head and that was not a pleasant experience. Having a knife to my throat, hands strangling my neck, or having a seatbelt wrapped around my neck while being driven at 100 MPH down the freeway were not pleasant experiences either. And you know what - the crazy thing about laws is that someone did all of these things and the laws were not strong enough to get his butt incarcerated. Laws are effective, aren't they?

I really wish our politicians would put a lot more emphasis on protection of victims and finding more ways to help them escape and less emphasis on chasing after a gun law. It is difficult to escape an abuser. When someone escapes, they have to go into hiding, and they no longer have a source for funding. That means no money to live on. And, depending on the degree of control their abuser had on them, they need assistance to believe in themselves again to get into the workforce. They need financial assistance to change their name. They need a safe place to hide. Can you imagine how many people you could help with the tax dollars that you are wasting to fight a seemingly losing battle over gun control?

Something that I was disappointed to learn when I took my kid to Olympia is that it is perfectly legal for gun protesters to bring guns inside. We sat and watched the Senate floor where guns are allowed. I was required to throw my water bottle away. Apparently, water bottles are more dangerous than guns inside the capitol.

I don't know what to think any more - other than believing that the dogs you politicians chase are not the dogs that should be chased.

I do support it. There are no reason for assault weapons, silencers except for murder of any kind of animals. Get a grip people, you are not shooting pop cans with these. I am not advocating taking all weapons away. What is the deal with guns anyway. I do not want to be around any people carrying them.

Totally support you in this effort. I believe we all need to right to have weapons however there just is no reason anyone needs an auto or semi auto weapon ... we must change the culture in this county and start to protect our loved ones... go get em!!!

How about you look at the actual data from the last assault weapon ban and realize that it had no affect on crime stats. Also you should pull your head out of your ass and realize that none of what you propose here would have stopped this shooting. This guy passed background checks, so the only real way to completely avoid these things is to ban all guns. But hey meth is illegal and I haven't really noticed any slowing down of people using that....